- Lego's market share is 7.6%, making them the largest toy company.
- Legos data analysis reports an increase in revenue of 27% in 2021, which is an increase from kr43.7 billion to kr55.3 billion.
- Germany leads the way as the largest Lego market.
- The cheapest Lego set in the world should be found in Hong Kong. The prices of sets are at $111.12 on average.
- Lego City, Star Wars, and Technic continue to be best seller in the recent years.
- Lego targets adult buyers more than in previous with an increased amount of 18+ sets.
Introduction Of Lego
Lego is a very popular toy, but just how popular? How do they compare to other toy companies, and is the brand growing?
While Lego began producing an early version of their now-famous plastic bricks in 1949, spawning many different product ranges, films, theme parks, and more, how popular is Lego now?
If you have ever wondered about exactly how successful Lego is, we've taken a look at some interesting statistics.
Lego Stats and Facts
1. Lego Market Share in the Toy Industry
Lego was the leading toy manufacturer worldwide with sales revenue of more than $7.2 billion in 2020. The total revenue in the worldwide toy market was about $94.7 billion in the same year. This gives us a Lego market share of 7.6%, making them the largest toy company.
Top toy companies' worldwide revenue for 2020:
- Lego - $7.2 billion
- Bandai Namco - $6.57 billion
- Hasbro - $5.47 billion
- Mattel - $4.58 billion
In the latest figures released in March 2022, Legos data analysis reports an increase in revenue of 27% in 2021. This is an increase from kr43.7 billion to kr55.3 billion, which is around $8.06 billion in revenue.
Revenue looks set to increase in 2022, with 165 new stores opened, which leaves Lego with 832 stores worldwide. And 95 of these new stores were in China, bringing the total number in that country to 340. China has become one of Lego's top markets, aiding revenue growth in 2021, and likely beyond.
2. Which Country Buys the Most Lego?
Germany leads the way as the largest Lego market. Lego is also the top toy company in Germany, with the best-selling product lines being Technic and City. The USA is the second-largest market for Lego, where Bionicle and Star Wars themes are best sellers.
3. Lego Net Sales Worldwide by Region
Europe has for many years been the most important region for Lego. But in 2021, the Americas closed the gap with Europe, almost reaching the same level of net sales.
Net Sales 2021 in Danish Kroner
- Europe - 22,906m
- Americas - 22,031m
- Asia and Pacific - 9,907m
All regions have seen sales increases since at least 2017, with an impressive Lego net profit in the last two years.
Net Sales 2020 in Danish Kroner
- Europe - 19,060m
- Americas - 16,345m
- Asia and Pacific - 7,857m
4. Which is the Cheapest Country to Buy Lego?
According to The Toy Zone, the cheapest Lego set in the world should be found in Hong Kong. There, the prices of sets are, on average, cheaper than anywhere else at $111.12. This is compared to the average in the USA of $129.56.
The home of Lego, Denmark, is also the cheapest place in Europe, and second in the world, with average sets costing $115.65.
5. How Many Lego Sets Are Sold Each Year?
More than 220 million Lego sets are sold around the world each year. That works out as about 7 Lego sets sold per second.
6. Top 5 Most Popular Lego Sets Each Year
While Lego doesn't provide data on exactly which sets are most popular, they do release details of their top themes each year.
2018
- City
- Star Wars
- Technic
- Friends
- Ninjago
2019
- City
- Star Wars
- Creator
- Friends
- Technic
2020
- City
- Star Wars
- Classic
- Friends
- Technic
2021
- City
- Star Wars
- Creator Expert
- Harry Potter
- Technic
As you can see, City, Star Wars, and Technic, product ranges that have been around for a long time, continue to be very popular. Creator Expert becoming popular in 2021 shows a shift to targeting adult buyers more than in previous years.
7. Lego's Target Audience
For a long time, Lego only considered children to be its target market. The Lego target audience age is from 1 to 15, with children aged 9 or 10 being their ideal market.
To succeed in their advertising, they are carefully focused on marketing campaigns that speak to that age range. Lego also produces a different complexity of toys to suit different age ranges.
However, children are more difficult to market to, thanks to more rules and regulations restricting the company's advertising.
A large part of their marketing strategy involved working with retail partners in shopping malls to attract customers, something that wasn't possible during the pandemic. Due to this, their strategy had to change to more directly target customers, and this altered Lego consumer demographics.
There has always been a large customer base and interest from adults, and this was focused on more during the pandemic. Not only was it easier to target adults, but there were many bored people confined in their homes. One of these markets was Hong Kong, where they were able to directly reach adults on social media.
As you can see, Lego release more and more 18+ sets for adult fans. In 2020, 23 18+ sets are released. While in 2021, there are 53 18+ sets. Until now in 2022 May, they have confirmed to release 33 sets for adults, so it could be possible to have about 70 18+ new models this year.
Adult consumers have the benefit of typically spending more on their hobbies, something that has allowed the brand to continue to grow in these difficult times. Brands like Creator Expert and others designed for adults helped push sales. Despite this, they aren't neglecting their important younger demographic.
The company is making further efforts to expand its business with Lego digital products and services. Instead of directly competing with digital platforms and screens, they have chosen to work with them, for example, creating Super Mario Lego toys.
Conclusion
Lego has for a very long time been a successful toy, but sales and the company continue to grow. As you can see from our Lego stats, the company and the brand continue to flourish, finding more customers with new product ranges.
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